Shortly after opening, Dow Jones plunges over 800 pts

New York: US stocks opened sharply lower yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding below 16,000 for the first time since February 2014, as a rout in global markets continued to intensify.

US stocks slide below 16,000 mark yesterday for the first time since February 2014. FIle Pic/AFP

European equities also dived yesterday following the previous session’s deep decline, as the Stoxx Europe 600 was down over 6% and Germany’s DAX fell 4%.

US stocks saw a heavy fall on Friday, with the Dow nosediving more than 500 points, as a broad-based heavy sell-off in global stock markets weighed on the US market.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street’s fear gauge, soared 46.45% to end at 28.03 on Friday.

Rule 48Permits market makers on New York Stock Exchange to not disseminate price indications ahead of open trading. This rule was invoked for the first time in 18 years yesterday.

Around the globe

Elsewhere around the globe, Chinese stocks crashed, pulling down the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index 8.45% to close at 3,211.2 points. The Shenzhen Component Index also shed 7.27% to end at 10,983.42 points. Hong Kong stocks also dived for the seventh consecutive trading session on Monday. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 1,158.05 points, or 5.17%, to close at 21,251.57 points.